Chester-le-Street (England), July 5A masterly unbeaten century by
Sachin Tendulkar was made redundant as the day-night league match
between India and England in the triangular series was abandoned due to
rains here yesterday.

England's wicketkeeper Alec Stewart, right, applauds India's Sachin
Tendulkar for his first century against England during the match at Chester Le Street, England,
on Thursday.
— AP/PTI photo

India keen to book berth in finalEdgbaston, July 5A buoyant India will look to carry on with their stupendous form in the NatWest triseries and assure themselves of a final berth by denying the Sri Lankans a victory yet again tomorrow.
Having lost all their three matches in the tri-series so far, Sri Lanka
face the daunting task of upstaging India who, in contrast, are yet to
lose a match in the series.

Hussain learns while Sachin batsChester-le-Street, July 5While Sachin Tendulkar did the batting, Nasser Hussain did the learning.
The little maestro, who was in full flow en route to his 105 not out yesterday, might not have known that the English skipper was ‘educating’ himself seeing the champion wield the willow in a stupendous fashion.

Chetan Sharma writes
Indians deserve to be in finalWE Indians have a habit of going overboard with our cricket team but this time you can’t stop me. The past week or so, our cricketers have looked hungry for success and when that happens with any team, success is sure to follow.
I would say the Indians were more unlucky than England yesterday at Chesterle-Street. Had the game not been abandoned, India had more chances of winning than England.

London,
July 5A lion-hearted performance from Lleyton Hewitt left Tim Henman’s Wimbledon dreams in tatters
once more the Australian crushing the fourth seed 7-5 6-1 7-5 in their semi-final here today.
Not even the collective will of a nation could save Henman from the ferocious nature of Hewitt’s groundstrokes nor the burning intensity of the Australian’s desire as he tore victory from under Henman’s nose in two hours, 19 minutes on Centre
Court.

Serena meets Venus; players cry foulLondon, July 5As Venus and Serena Williams prepared to take to centre court at Wimbledon tomorrow for their third Grand Slam final together in less than a year the sisters were fending off criticism that they have reduced women’s tennis to a family duel.

Venus (L) and Serena Williams of the USA confer during their women's doubles match against Slovenia's Tina Krizan and Katarina Srebotnik at the Wimbledon tennis
championships on Friday. The Williams sisters won 6-2 6-0.
— Reuters photo

Scheduling offends S. AmericansLondon, July 5It was the first time two South Americans had played in a Wimbledon quarterfinal - and the match was relegated to court No 2.
Both Argentine David Nalbandian — who won the match in five sets - and Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador were offended by the scheduling.

Koreans thank foreign clubsSeoul, July 5South Korea’s soccer association said today it has sent “thank-you” letters to Italy’s Perugia and other foreign clubs for hiring South Korean players who contributed to their home country’s success in the World Cup.

Dutch soccer coach of the South Korea national team Guus Hiddink holds a golden ball presented by Korea Football Association (KFA) during disbanding ceremony of South Korean soccer team in Seoul on Friday. South Korea beat Poland, Portugal, Italy and Spain after five previous finals spanning 48 years without a single match victory during the World Cup finals.
— Reuters photo

France sacks LemerreLyon, July 5Roger Lemerre was sacked as France coach today, 24 days after the defending champions suffered a humiliating World Cup first round exit.
Although Lemerre did not want to resign and the French Soccer Federation
(FFF) was initially reluctant to sack him, his dismissal had become
increasingly inevitable.

Shani Waugh of Australia waits to putt on the final hole during the first round at the 57th U.S. Women’s Open Championship at the Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas, on Thursday. Waugh finished the round with a three-under-par 67. Reuters

Chester-le-Street (England), July 5
A masterly unbeaten century by Sachin Tendulkar was made redundant as
the day-night league match between India and England in the triangular
series was abandoned due to rains here yesterday.

Replying to India’s 285 for four, England were 53 for one in 12 overs when rain forced the disruption of play for the first time. That interruption lasted no more than five minutes before the umpires, David Shepherd and Dave Orchard, ordered the players in.

However, India’s first change bowler Ajit Agarkar had sent down just three balls when play had to be stopped again, this time for good.

It kept drizzling and the umpires decided no more play was possible, much to the frustration of the Indians who believed they had a strong chance of winning their third consecutive match in the tournament.

The frustration was all the more pronounced since Tendulkar had come up with a gem of a knock, a 108-ball 105, to power his team to its highest ever total against England in what was India’s 500th one-day international.

Tendulkar registered his first one-day hundred against England - 32nd overall - and was associated in two solid partnerships with Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh which saw India recover from 53 for three after they had elected to bat.

A 169-run stand for the fourth wicket, an Indian record against England, between Tendulkar and Dravid, who made a brilliant 82, set the stage for some lusty hitting in the last overs which produced 106 runs for India.

With three wickets falling quite early, Tendulkar and Dravid scored at a slow but steady rate through the middle overs trying to rebuild the Indian innings.

It was an exemplary display of one-day batting as they paced their innings beautifully and simply exploded after reaching the 40-over mark.

Dravid was out in the 45th over, caught at deep midwicket by Andrew Flintoff off Paul Collingwood, but Tendulkar got a useful partner in Yuvraj Singh who blasted 40 runs in just 19 deliveries with four fours and a six.

Tendulkar, who hit nine fours and a six in his superlative knock, completed his hundred with a two of Darren Gough in the 49th over.

India then effected an early dismissal of dangerman Marcus Trescothick who was trapped leg before wicket by Zaheer Khan for 23.

Nick Knight and skipper Nasser Hussain were batting on 17 and nine, respectively, when rain provided an anti-climax to an engrossing match.

The teams earned two points each from this match and both are now placed on 10 points but India have played one match less. The third team in the tournament, Sri Lanka, have yet to earn a point after playing three matches.

Edgbaston, July 5
A buoyant India will look to carry on with their stupendous form in the NatWest triseries and assure themselves of a final berth by denying the Sri Lankans a victory yet again tomorrow.

Having lost all their three matches in the tri-series so far, Sri Lanka face the daunting task of upstaging India who, in contrast, are yet to lose a match in the series.

India’s third match against England yesterday, was abandoned due to rain but they were in a winnable situation having piled up 285 for four in 50 overs.

India have 10 points from three games, the same as England but the latter have played an extra game.

The three defeats in a row have pushed the Lankans to the wall, and they must now win their remaining three league matches if they are to entertain any hope of making it to the final at Lord’s on July 13.

Knowing very well that any slip up now could knock them out of reckoning for the final, Sri Lanka are expected to go all out against India tomorrow.

Unfortunately for them, they are up against a new-look Indian team which has shown tremendous character even in pressure situations.

Sachin Tendulkar joined the list of batsmen in form as he struck an enthralling 108-ball 105 to steer the team out of trouble which was once reduced to 52 for three during the Riverside day-night match yesterday.
PTI

Chester-le-Street, July 5
While Sachin Tendulkar did the batting, Nasser Hussain did the learning.

The little maestro, who was in full flow en route to his 105 not out yesterday, might not have known that the English skipper was ‘educating’ himself seeing the champion wield the willow in a stupendous fashion.

“I think we learnt more about batting than fielding today. We learnt how to go in a one-day innings from a great player,” said Hussain after the one-dayer was abandoned yesterday due to rains.

Tendulkar’s unbeaten 108-ball knock helped his side reach an imposing 285 for four in 50 overs after the team was reeling at 52 for three at one stage. With Rahul Dravid (82), he put on 169 for the fourth wicket, an Indian record against England surpassing the previous best of 164 between Tendulkar himself and Vinod Kambli at Jaipur during the 1992-93 series.

Hussain was so overwhelmed by Tendulkar’s innings that it was difficult for him to find fault with the English fielding or bowling which was mauled by the champion batsman.

“I think credit is due to one great player who showed how to rebuild an innings. Today the little master showed us how to play a one-day innings. I have no complaints over our bowling or fielding”.

Hussain said his team only stood a chance of restricting the Indians if they were able to break the Tendulkar-Dravid stand. “We were right there till the 40th over. Up to 41st, we were just hoping to get a wicket in that spell.”

Justifying his decision to bring back for the final overs Ashley Giles and Paul Collingwood, who were hammared by Tendulkar, Hussain said “I think Sachin was trying to line up Giles or Collingwood. I was delaying them in the hope that someone could get Sachin out. That’s why both were asked to bowl in the last 10 overs.”

Tendulkar opened up after 40 overs and hit left-arm spinner Giles twice over extra cover for fours and then reverse swept him for another boundary. “It was going down to a plan if we had put them down to 240 or 250. But the brilliance of Tendulkar got them 30-40 runs more. He just took the game away from us,” said Hussain.

He also praised Yuvraj Singh, who smashed 40 runs off 19 balls, but said the game was nicely set up for him by Tendulkar and Dravid.

“It was set up nicely for him in a similar way it was for Flintoff at Trent Bridge. When you have only a few overs to bat, it is a bit of a license.” After witnessing India’s batting prowess in the one-dayers, the England captain said the strong Indian line up would be a cause for worry for England all summer.

“I think we have to get our thinking caps on. If we have to beat India, we have to find out how are we going to get through this batting line-up”, he said.
PTI

WE Indians have a habit of going overboard with our cricket team but this time you can’t stop me. The past week or so, our cricketers have looked hungry for success and when that happens with any team, success is sure to follow.

I would say the Indians were more unlucky than England yesterday at Chesterle-Street. Had the game not been abandoned, India had more chances of winning than England. Not only was the 286 run target stiff for the Englishmen, losing the wicket of star batsman Marcus Trescothick swung the game in India’s favour. But as it was, the points were shared by the two sides and that would help England more as they have to leave Sri Lanka behind in the race to qualify for the final. Unless the Indians get complacent, they should make the final at Lord’s on Thursday. They deserve to be there and if you ask me, I am putting my money on them to win the tri-series.

I am saying this because the Indian batting is in wonderful form. Sachin Tendulkar wants to make a big impression on the English crowd this year and with the youngsters Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Mohammad Kaif also determined beating the Indians would not be easy.

Tendulkar played a gem of an innings yesterday. When he is in that kind of form, God save the other teams. India lost three wickets early (again due to some foolish shots), Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid played true to their world-class potential. These two are in class of their own, they can judge the pace and bounce of the wicket too soon. They played patiently but when they got their eye in, the English bowling was murdered.

I was surprised to see Kirtley bowl. He was lucky to pick up the wicket of Mongia, but Kirtley was a lottery bowler for the Indians. He was pitching short most of the times and both Dravid and Tendulkar knew where to hit him. English fast bowlers should see how Gough bowls, though he is fresh from injury. He doesn’t err in line or length and Kirtley will improve if he picks up a few tips from him.

Yuvraj is in such a mood that he would murder any attack. He reminded me of Sanath Jaysuriya and played an innings the Lankan skipper would be proud of playing. Yuvraj did not play lusty shots but played sensibly. I am amazed at his timing, and having seen and played with his father Yograj Singh in the 80s, I know from where the youngster has acquired his power from.

India can now even afford to experiment. They can give a chance to the Haryana wicket-keeper Ajay Ratra which will give him the feel of English conditions. That will help him during the Test matches.

London, July 5
A lion-hearted performance from Lleyton Hewitt left Tim Henman’s Wimbledon dreams in tatters once more the Australian crushing the fourth seed 7-5 6-1 7-5 in their semi-final here today.

Not even the collective will of a nation could save Henman from the ferocious nature of Hewitt’s groundstrokes nor the burning intensity of the Australian’s desire as he tore victory from under Henman’s nose in two hours, 19 minutes on Centre Court.

“It’s incredible,” Hewitt said. “Wimbledon means an awful lot to all the Australians back home.

“I am kind of speechless right now. I just got on a roll. I was seeing the ball like a football out there it was so big and I was hitting the ball right in the middle of the racket every time.”

The victory sweeps top seed Hewitt into his first Wimbledon final. For Henman it means an agonising fourth semi-final defeat here in five years.

Henman had been bidding to become the first Briton to reach the final of the men’s singles since Bunny Austin in 1938. The last Briton to lift the trophy was Fred Perry two years earlier in 1936.

But the disappointing defeat under grey rainy London skies spells yet another missed opportunity for Henman and the 27-year-old will have to wait at least one more year for a chance to fulfill his life’s dream.

Despite serving and volleying with great fluidity and poise, Henman simply had no answers for the ferocity and velocity of Hewitt’s returns and passing shots throughout the one-sided contest.

Tearing into his shots with gusto, it was the Australian who started the stronger and Henman could not keep up with him as the match wore on.

Hewitt edged a tight first set with some dogged retrieving and determined running, covering every blade of grass on Centre Court.

Rain forced the pair off after 70 minutes with the Australian leading 7-5 and 3-0 and when they returned an hour later Hewitt pulled away.

A bout of quick-fire volleying and two return screamers brought up three break points in the sixth game and Hewitt converted the third when a backhand pass clipped the net and skipped past the stranded Henman at the net.

U.S. Open champion Hewitt calmly served out to take the second set 6-1 and leave Henman facing another painful defeat.

The Australian continued to strafe Henman’s side of the court with tracer bullet-like forehands and the Briton cracked once more in the third game.

Facing increasing pressure on his serve, he buckled and threw in his first double fault of the match to hand Hewitt his fifth break of the match and a 2-1 lead in the third set.

With one eye on the final, world number one Hewitt was irrepressible. He edged closer to victory winning each service game with ease until the 10th game of the set when Henman had one last throw of the dice.

Opening his shoulders on his returns he earned two break points on the Australian’s serve and clinched it on his second when Hewitt netted a forehand.

Stung by having his serve broken, Hewitt, who calls himself ‘the rock’, punched straight back, breaking Henman for a 6-5 lead with a hoisted lob which landed near the baseline and spun away and out of reach of the scampering Briton.

The break gave Hewitt a second chance and he made no mistake this time. Henman saved the first match point with a brave backhand but Hewitt clinched victory on his second with a 116 miles per hour (186.7 kph) ace before dropping to one knee and emitting a roar of delight.
Reuters

London, July 5
As Venus and Serena Williams prepared to take to centre court at Wimbledon tomorrow for their third Grand Slam final together in less than a year the sisters were fending off criticism that they have reduced women’s tennis to a family duel.

Venus won the first round when she successfully defended her US Open title last year, and Serena came back to win the French Open in an error-strewn match where neither of the sisters played to their ability.

Amid allegations that dad Richard, who has been conspicously absent from the sidelines at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, chooses who will win, players admitted that they were finding it hard to keep up with the Williams.

“Well, you have to ask them for that,” said France’s Amelie Mauresmo curtly when asked to predict who would win after her 6-2 6-1 semi-final loss to Serena.

“To me I think it’s a little bit sad for women’s tennis. Because first I think people are going to get bored about it. I’m not counting how many people told me ‘We don’t want a Williams final’.”

Belgian sixth seed Justine Henin, who went out 6-3 6-2 to Venus, echoed the French player.

“That’s good for them but I think that maybe the crowd would also like to see the other players in different Grand Slam finals. But if they are in the final that’s because they’re playing well. It’s a difficult situation.”

But for the sisters playing together doesn’t seem to pose as big a problem.

In fact Serena, 20, admitted she would rather play 22-year -old Venus than anyone else because they could make the maximum amount of money.

“You guys seem to have more of a problem with it than us,” said Serena.

“I try to put it as if I’m facing other players. But obviously I’m not. I’m facing the best player in the world right now and it’s going to be difficult.”

Venus, bidding to emulate Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova by completing a hat-trick, is aware Serena who will take her world number one spot next week as a result of reaching the final here is snapping at her heels.

“When I walk out there, I realise I’m playing the number two player, a real powerhouse, I’ve got to be on my toes,” said Venus.

“I didn’t win the French Open, but I’m going to do my best here at Wimbledon. That’s all I can do.”

But the problem for them is that, by avoiding playing in the same tournaments apart from the Grand Slams, both have become used to winning with Venus having 25 WTA titles to her name and Serena 15.

“We both love to win,” said Venus. “I’m not used to losing. It doesn’t happen that often. It’s quite the same with her. You know when I go home, I’ve managed to lose, I can’t believe it. I just don’t get there that often. I think that’s hat makes it the same for us.”

Serena, who was injured earlier in the year, lags behind in titles and has two Grand Slams compared to Venus’ four.

She does not want to be 5-2 down but knows that it will be hard to beat her sister who has the advantage of having being champion here before, as she had at the US Open.

“You know what happened at the US Open, I think I was too satisfied. I was very satisfied with my game. I thought — I really thought I was going to win, just because I’d beaten some other players. I went in there a little over confident, a little cocky. She really beat me that day.

“I think I’ve grown mentally more than anything,” said Serena.”

But she admits that Venus really knows how to play on grass.

“This is going to be the most difficult surface for me to face her serve. She’s been doing well here,” said Serena.

“I’m going to have a lot of fun out there really. I’m going to go out there and really try to win Wimbledon. I want to belong to the All-England Club.”

But so far the sisters, who become the first siblings to play in the women’s final since the inaugural championships in 1884 when Maud Watson beat sister Lilian, can’t quite believe what is happening to them.

“I’m still waiting for the catch,” said Serena. “There’s always a catch.”
AFP

London, July 5
It was the first time two South Americans had played in a Wimbledon quarterfinal - and the match was relegated to court No 2.

Both Argentine David Nalbandian — who won the match in five sets - and Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador were offended by the scheduling.

“I think it’s stunning that a quarterfinal match is played on Court 2,” Lapentti said. “I don’t want to make it as an excuse but I’m disappointed. To make it so far, you want to play in a stadium, in the big courts.”

Due to rain delays, the two South Americans played on the 2,220-seat court No 2 — while the other three quarterfinal matches were played on 10,000-seat-plus centre court or court No 1.

“I’m just saying it’s not nice,” Lapentti said. “Just because we’re being South Americans, nobody expected us to play quarterfinals here.

“We’re walking into the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, we walk on court and there’s no one there. There were less people than a first-round match. I think it was a bit (of a) lack of respect . We should have been scheduled on another court.”

Nalbandian agreed. He plays Xavier Malisse in the semifinals.

“We never play in the stadiums at Wimbledon,” he said. “I think it is a bad decision from the referee. It is very different to play in centre or court No 1 and outside courts.

“The visual is different. The feeling is different. I think the players who were playing before in the centre court have more chances, they know the feeling.”

PONYTAILED WONDER: So how about that ponytail? Xavier Malisse became the first Belgian man in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, but after his five-set win over 1996 champion Richard Krajicek, the first questions were about his hair.

Malisse is known for his individual stylistic streak — he’s previously dyed his hair purple and painted his fingernails. At his post-match news conference, one reporter said he had a pair of scissors with him and was ready to cut Malisse’s hair.

“I’ve got to say I can’t do it,” Malisse said. “It’s an image.”

“I’ll do some colour in my head. I don’t know yet. I have to keep the ponytail.”

Malisse admitted he grew his hair long for a bet.

“It’s a bet, it got around,” he said. “You know, that’s how it goes. I was going to do it (cut it), but for image, I can’t do it.”

As for his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Capriati, Malisse said their 2000 split improved both their games.

“I think it was good for both,” he said. “You know, obviously when we broke up, she won the Australian (in 2001). For me it went better. I think it’s for the best what happened.”

Davenport, the 1999 winner, missed the 2002 season after undergoing knee surgery last November, but plans to come back for the US Davis Cup tie against Israel in Springfield, Missouri, from July 19-20.

“I was able to hit tennis balls again in late April and I am now 100 per cent on the court and I have been working out a lot, and I feel really ready to be back on the tour,” Davenport said in a web chat with WTA tour sponsor Sanex.

“The long layoff will definitely help me to play longer. It has been very, very nice to spend time with my family but I definitely miss tennis and competition.”

Davenport said the Williams sisters were the players to beat on the tour and tipped Venus to win her third consecutive Wimbledon trophy.

“I think it’s going to be very hard to stop Venus,” Davenport said. “She won two years in a row, however Serena could give her a good challenge.”
AP

Guus Hiddink (L), South Korean national soccer team head coach, toasts with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung during a luncheon meeting hosted by Kim to celebrate the team's fourth place in the 2002 World Cup
finals at the presidential Blue House in Seoul
on Friday.
— Reuters photo

Seoul, July 5
South Korea’s soccer association said today it has sent “thank-you” letters to Italy’s Perugia and other foreign clubs for hiring South Korean players who contributed to their home country’s success in the World Cup.

The letters, signed by Cho Jung-hyun, general-secretary of the (South) Korean Football Association, were faxed yesterday to Perugia, RSC Anderlecht of Belgium and five Japanese clubs — Kashiwa Re ysol, JEF United Ichihara, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Kashiwa Reysol and Ce rezo Osaka.

In a letter addressed to Luciano Gaucci, president of Perugia Calcio, Cho said he wanted to “convey our heartfelt gratitude to you for your contribution to the successful result of our national team at the final competition of the 2002 World Cup. We would like to share the joy of our team’s success with your esteemed club.”

“Without your kind cooperation in nurturing Mr Ahn Jung-hwan and releasing him each time he was summoned for his national team duty, our national team could not have reached the level of peak performance that they displayed during the World Cup finals,” he said.

Ahn, who had been playing for Perugia since the start of the 2000-01 season, played a key role in helping South Korea move to the semifinals in this year’s World Cup which ended on June 30.

His header in overtime lifted South Korea to a stunning 2-1 victory in the second round, delivering three-time champions Italy a humiliating World Cup elimination. Perugia’s president, Gaucci responded by telling Ahn he was not welcome back.

“I am not going to pay the salary of a guy who has been the ruin of Italian soccer,” Gaucci was quoted as saying by the Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, a day after Italy’s knockout.

Perugia later changed its mind and said it would exercise its option to purchase his rights from South Korea’s Busan I.cons.

Ahn rejected Perugia’s offer to sign a new contract. His agent, ePlayers, said the South Korean star had no intention to return to Perugia which attacked his character instead of congratulating him for his goal in the World Cup.

Seol Ki-hyun, who plays for Belgium’s RSC Anbderlecht, scored an equalizer in the regulation march between South Korea and Italy, forcing them to go into overtime.

In the quarterfinals, South Korea beat Spain in a penalty shootout and moved to the semifinals where it was beaten by Germany. It was the first time an Asian team had progressed so far at a World Cup.

Before this year’s World Cup, South Korea had not won a match in the premier global soccer tournament. This year’s tournament was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.
AP

Lyon, July 5
Roger Lemerre was sacked as France coach today, 24 days after the defending champions suffered a humiliating World Cup first round exit.

Although Lemerre did not want to resign and the French Soccer Federation (FFF) was initially reluctant to sack him, his dismissal had become increasingly inevitable.

“Roger Lemerre has been discharged of his mission as the national coach. He will continue to sit on the national coaching management body,” French Soccer Federation (FFF) president Claude Simonet said at the end of a closed-door meeting in Lyon.

“To choose a successor is an heavy task. He will be selected after consultations and named at a later stage,” he added.

Lemerre did not comment on the decision and no details of the deal were given.

Lemerre took over as France coach from Aime Jacquet four years ago after the team won the 1998 World Cup.

Under his guidance, France won Euro 2000 and the 2001 Confederations Cup.

They left for South Korea and Japan as tournament favourites but suffered the humiliation of becoming the first defending champions to be knocked out of the World Cup in the first round for 36 years.

They finished bottom of group A after failing to score a single goal in three games and gathering just one point, suffering a shock 1-0 loss in the opening game to newcomers Senegal, being held to a 0-0 draw by Uruguay and losing to Denmark.
Reuters

SPORTS BRIEFS

TESTUD TO RETIRE
LONDON: Sandrine Testud, eliminated from the Wimbledon women’s singles by French compatriot Mary Pierce in the second round last week, has decided to call an end to her career. “My life as a tennis player is finished, quite finished,” the world number ten was quoted as saying on Friday. “I won’t come back to the circuit after the birth,” Testud, who discovered while she was playing in Birmingham a month ago that she was pregnant, told the French sports daily L’Equipe. Testud, 30, who reached her highest singles ranking of ninth in February 2000, pulled out of the women’s doubles third round at Wimbledon on Monday saying she was unwell and left London for her family home in Lyon.
Reuters